Representatives of Homes for Good, Lane County's public housing authority that manages the program, say slightly fewer voucher holders have been able to find a place by the end of the 120-day deadline due to rising rents and low vacancy rates. In addition, the total money the program receives for vouchers isn't stretching as far.

Travis Baker, Homes for Good's landlord liaison, said rent increases are "off the charts right now."

"That's forcing us to increase the amount that each voucher is worth so we're paying more money per household, which means we serve less households overall," he said.

For a one-bedroom apartment, as an example, the payment standard — the maximum amount Homes for Good will pay on a voucher — will increase to $702 a month on Jan. 1 from $654.

"That's quite a jump for one year," Baker said.

To qualify for a voucher for a one-bedroom apartment, a family would need to make less than $22,450 a year.

Meanwhile, 70 percent of voucher holders find a place, he said, a few percentage points lower than before the rental market began heating up four years ago.

"We're definitely seeing it's taking people longer than it has in the past to find a unit," said Ela Kubok, spokeswoman for Homes for Good, adding that even the slightly reduced level remains a "pretty good rate."

Section 8 is a federal housing assistance program created in the 1970s with the aim of giving low-income people who qualify a bridge toward success by allowing them to live in neighborhoods of their choice with better housing and schools than would be found in public housing that is typically concentrated in poorer areas.

Under the program, tenants pay 30 percent of their monthly income toward rent, with the program paying a maximum amount that usually covers the remainder, calculated based on the area's market rent and the number of bedrooms.

There's one bit of good news for the more than 32,000 Section 8 voucher holders in Oregon. They don't have to endure a hardship faced by many families receiving housing assistance in other states: landlord discrimination.

In 2014, Oregon enacted a new law that makes it illegal for landlords to reject a prospective tenant simply because they received Section 8 or another public housing subsidy. Landlords who violate the law could face a civil rights investigation or a lawsuit. Oregon is one of only nine states with such a law.

To reassure landlords, the law created a program that may reimburse landlords up to $5,000 for damage caused by tenants receiving housing assistance. Landlords have drawn upon the fund only a handful of times in about five years, according to a recent report.

The law came in response to complaints that many landlords were refusing to rent to Section 8 voucher holders.

Generally, landlords are doing a good job following the law, according to representatives who work with voucher holders.

"Most of the time (any problems) can be solved with an explanation or, at worst, a demand letter or, ideally, they'll talk to a lawyer," said Elliott Farren, staff attorney for Lane County Legal Aid.

The nonprofit firm provides civil legal assistance to people who receive many types of public assistance, including Section 8.

One common source of friction is landlords who expect voucher holders to earn a gross income three times the rent amount, a common requirement for prospective tenants of market-rate housing, Farren said. But he explained landlords can only base that calculation on the portion of the gross income the Section 8 voucher holder would be paying toward rent, which is significantly less.

Baker said his position was created two years ago to help landlords navigate the Section 8 program and state law so they stay on the right side of both.

"There's no bad feelings about it," he said. "The struggle has been getting to know the process, the paperwork, how they can run their business while incorporating the Section 8 program."

He added: "I don't see a lot of landlords trying to skirt the rules to get out of it."

Homes for Good will receive $17.2 million in Section 8 financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the current fiscal year, a 4.2 percent increase from the prior year.

The program serves about 3,000 families in Lane County each year. Demand is high so Homes for Good opens for applications for vouchers every two years and use a lottery system to allocate the funding as it becomes available. The program will accept applications again next year.

Voucher holders receive the housing assistance for an average of five years, Kubok said.

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